Deutsche Welle: Berlin measles epidemic reaches new high “A measles outbreak in Berlin continues to see a rise in new cases. Calls for compulsory vaccination are becoming ever louder, with a strong majority of Germans supporting a new law in favor of vaccination…” (3/6).

Foreign Policy: Like ‘Just Say No,’ but With More Kalashnikovs “…The ‘Luhansk People’s Republic’ (LNR) and ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ (DNR) regimes that have taken over this region [of Eastern Ukraine] have instigated a brutal war on drugs and alcohol, conducted through extrajudicial detentions, forced labor, and, allegedly, executions. … These…

EurActiv: Andriukaitis: Ebola highlights Africa’s health challenges “The ‘Ebola: From Emergency to Recovery’ conference, being held by the European Commission [Tuesday], provides an important opportunity to plan for the long-term recovery and resilience of affected countries, Health Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis told EurActiv in an exclusive interview…” (Gotev, 3/3).

Reuters: WHO calls for more measles vaccination in Europe as large outbreaks persist “The World Health Organization in Europe called on Wednesday for measles vaccination campaigns to be stepped up across the region after recording 22,000 cases of the highly infectious disease since the start of 2014…” (Kelland, 2/25).

Bloomberg News: Angola Taps E.U., UNICEF Funding to Train Water Workers “Angola, where less than half of the population has access to clean water, plans to build a complex in the southwest African nation to help train water workers with funding assistance from the European Union and UNICEF. The funding…

U.K. Parliament: U.K.’s response to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa The U.K. Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee issued comments on the response to the Ebola epidemic, saying, “[DfID] was far too slow to react to the developing situation, missing an opportunity to contain quickly the outbreak of Ebola in at…

Reuters: Britain becomes first country to donate to IMF Ebola debt relief fund “Britain said on Monday it would contribute 50 million dollars to a new IMF fund to help West African countries hit by Ebola to service their debts so they can use their own money to help save…

The Guardian: U.K. pledges £100m extra for Syrian refugees “…The package — intended to assist refugees and the communities hosting them in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, and Iraq — was announced by the international development secretary, Justine Greening, as she visited Jordan with the Prince of Wales on Sunday. It brings…

EurActiv: Commission unveils its position on global development after 2015 “The European Commission published priorities for a sustainable development agenda on Thursday (5 February), ahead of negotiations for the post-2015 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). … ‘The Commission wants the E.U. to continue to lead by example on official development assistance,…

WIRED’s “SUPERBUG”: How To Fight Superbugs: Start Spending Money In her blog, journalist Maryn McKenna discusses two recently released reports from the U.K. government on efforts to fight antibiotic resistance. “The government-chartered British project examining antibiotic resistance — which made such a splash in December with its prediction that untreatable…